cannabisnews.com: Marijuana's Illegality Keep Harmful Drugs in Check





Marijuana's Illegality Keep Harmful Drugs in Check
Posted by CN Staff on April 20, 2004 at 08:43:44 PT
By Joe Shaw, The News Record
Source: Daily Lobo 
Anybody who has ever read about marijuana knows that it isn't nearly as bad as the government makes it out to be. In most people's eyes, smoking marijuana is about as bad as getting drunk.The inquiring mind then asks why, if marijuana is so harmless, isn't it legal? Why not bring it out in the open and do away with the hush-hush mystique that surrounds it?
The problem is that once you legalize it, all the fun ends.Part of the attraction to smoking weed is the mystique that surrounds it.It's illegal and everybody knows it. Obtaining that extra special dime bag of kind bud is a top secret, clandestine operation.And if you get caught, so what? You pay a fine, maybe spend a night in jail and then you go home. You have a story to tell your friends and a moment you can look back on and think, "At least I was risky and courageous once in my life."You make it legal, and people will look to other, more dangerous activities in order to get their thrill-seeking juices flowing.This becomes a problem for the authorities, people who have dedicated their lives to stopping us from doing anything remotely irresponsible. Now, they deal primarily with a few kids huddled around a pop can with holes poked in the side. Once marijuana is legalized, they have crack heads and heroin addicts cruising the streets, screaming obscenities and stealing whatever they can get their hands on.And the number of people addicted to those drugs will only increase as people look for new ways to fulfill their need to act out against the establishment.This means more treatment facilities, more tax dollars to fund crime prevention programs and more pointless self-help books about the best way to deal with your intrinsic-addictive behavior.So even those who abstain from the use of such things will be affected.We have a good thing going. Marijuana is illegal, but the consequences of getting caught are relatively light as long as you aren't selling. Once you grow up and get tired of it, you can quit it with ease.Other drugs, like heroin, cocaine and some hallucinogens, have months of hard work followed by an eventual relapse. Some withdrawal stages can even kill you if not done properly.Keeping marijuana illegal lets the socially irresponsible have their secret fun with little harm to the surrounding community and it keeps worse things at bay. Making it legal opens up a Pandora's box of craziness.So fight the power. Fight the enemies of fun. Illegalize it.Complete Title: Marijuana's Illegality Keeps More Harmful Drugs in CheckSource: Daily Lobo (NM)Author: Joe Shaw, The News RecordPublished: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Daily LoboContact: lobonews unm.eduWebsite: http://www.dailylobo.com/Related Articles:Potheads Ready To Roll on Day They Call 4:20http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18682.shtmlSmokers Celebrate Joys of Marijuana on Holiday http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18681.shtmlPot Smokers Abuzz Over 420 'Holiday'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18678.shtml 
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Comment #28 posted by jose melendez on April 22, 2004 at 21:07:41 PT
poison is legal, just not pot
BCR photo choiceI pick up my paper Monday morning and what do I see? A front page story on Black College Reunion with a full color photograph of a traffic ticket being written and a marijuana bust! Wow! Sixty thousand visitors in our city, and the most gripping photographs The News-Journal chose to print for Page One are a marijuana bust and a traffic infraction. I guess the voter registration drive and the AIDS awareness stories weren't newsworthy enough for the front page.I find it equally insulting that The News-Journal chose to bury on Page 1C in its April 17 edition that there were 1,460 arrests for underage drinking and alcohol sales during our wonderfully well-behaved Spring Break. I don't remember seeing any beer-soaked, out-of-control teenagers being arrested on the front page then.Last, for the many who will reply with the notion that young black people are out of control and should not be here, may I direct readers to another article buried on Page 3A in Monday's paper reporting that 1,000 people rioted during a festival near the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa, assaulting police officers and vandalizing cars and property. Before people start whining and complaining about BCR, they should just remember that ignorance comes in all colors.PHIL REED, Daytona BeachLetter to Editor published April 22, 2004in http://news-jrnl.com
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Comment #27 posted by potpal on April 22, 2004 at 19:18:16 PT
Get a clue...
...maybe they should prohibit alcohol again and then we'll have illegal alcohol to get our thrill-seeking juices flowing and the 10s of millions of cannabis users will disappear overnight...NOTI have noticed how they are labeling the Iraqi insurgents as terrorists, Saddam loyalists and drug users...Thanks to the kaptain for his many thought provoking posts.
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Comment #26 posted by jose melendez on April 21, 2004 at 12:45:18 PT
write!
"For those who can write please do! We are winning!"Thanks FoM, for your excellent and encouraging words. I am not sure how long this letter to the editor (technically about energy policy alternatives and corrupted funding priorities) will stay up in today's largest local paper, I mirrored it below:http://www.news-jrnl.com/03LettersIndex.htmhttp://pipepeace.com/z/img/letterEditor.jpg
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on April 21, 2004 at 09:58:19 PT
Holy day? 4-20
The prohibs made it so when they shot an innocent young woman and her child out of the sky on this date. All in the name of prohibition. What monsters we are up against. Self righteous, hideously deceived monsters.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on April 21, 2004 at 09:18:15 PT
JR Way To Go!
For those who can write please do! We are winning!
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on April 21, 2004 at 09:17:59 PT
About this article
I agree with Breeze."I have heard his argument and theory before, that because it is illegal- it makes it more "fun".
I know it sounds adolescent, because it IS adolescent."
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on April 21, 2004 at 09:13:41 PT
I second that emotion!
Oo-Rah! for JRBD!
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Comment #21 posted by Virgil on April 21, 2004 at 07:01:54 PT
It sure has a serious tone
It is the absurdity of the argument that makes me think that the guy cannot be serious. The argument is completely laughable. It is the inverse of the gateway theory that says was/is repeated a million times by the prohibitionist propaganda. If it is for the cause of prohibition then it signals a retreat to the last position while admitting that it really should be legal because it is benign. I wish it ran in every paper in the country and even people for reform could take up the same argument when writing LTE's because it is so absurd as to be friendly to reform.If I were going to write some satire I would say we are being invaded by powerful brownies from Canada. These are not the ganja brownies of yesterday. These are dangerous brownies made with hash oil from the most potent pot on the planet. One bite from these "crazy brownies" make a person crazy. These brownies are highly addictive and may be laced with caffiene to magnify the addiction that leads to rapid weight gain from the brownies themselves and the corresponding munchies. The "crazy brownies" now being smuggled into the United States present a threat to national security. Texas had laws that made one joint punishable by life in prison up to the early 1970's. Stronger penalties are required to met this new menace from the north and we should adopt some tough love sentencing like Texas or go to beheadings like in Manilla.
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Comment #20 posted by kaptinemo on April 21, 2004 at 05:20:19 PT:
Breeze, I'v e been thinking the same thing
I mean, really; I've seen *real* talent here that can deftly strip nonsensical BS to the core in a single sentence, flaying prohibitionist bunk left and right from an anti's rhetorical bones. Yet...yet...this kind of sophomoric garbage is passed off as 'journalism'? And the purveyors thereof are deemed professional 'journalists'? They get *PAID* for this?!(Shaking head sadly) I'm in the wrong line of work...but then, I couldn't stomach being a professional bull****ter for very long; you gotta have *some* standards of decency...
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Comment #19 posted by breeze on April 21, 2004 at 00:13:46 PT
I don't think this punk was joking
I have heard his argument and theory before, that because it is illegal- it makes it more "fun".I know it sounds adolescent, because it IS adolescent.This author is typical of a few like minded individuals, those who refuse to help spread the word to the public- in the respect that he wishes to keep it illegal because it is nonconformist. It makes him feel like a rebel, and so keep it illegal. A true thrill chaser would chose to have it made legal, and then go after other important issues that affect society.My question is simply, how do these A##holes get jobs in the writing industry? Who pays them to write this garbage?
Where can I sign on, 'cause I have seen dozens of writers both here and abroad who write better material than this 
$h!+. Pathetic.
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Comment #18 posted by KnowHemp on April 20, 2004 at 17:44:10 PT
Whats so funny?
I was gonna say something...but y'all already said it!
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Comment #17 posted by WolfgangWylde on April 20, 2004 at 14:59:22 PT
You can always...
...spot a dork who has never been arrested.
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Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on April 20, 2004 at 14:50:21 PT:
Oo-Rah! for JRBD!
Zinged 'em good, JR! Bang on target!
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Comment #15 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on April 20, 2004 at 13:32:03 PT
Catch this author - and I got printed!
He deserves to get caught just to see how bad the system is! At least then he won't be writing for the UNM paper, because he won't be able to get a student loan!Speaking of alcohol poisoning... our local paper has a call-in section for the people to voice their opinion about stuff. A couple weeks ago they ran a story from an "addiction specialist" and then a few days later I noticed a story about an anti-drug anti-drink high school age youth who drank herself to death in one night of experimentation. So I called, and said:"I'd like to compare last Friday's article about the dangers of marijuana with today's notice that a local teen died from binge drinking, an overdose of alcohol. Now scientists say that the lethal dose is the ratio between the amount it takes to intoxicate and the amount it takes to kill. The lethal dose of alcohol is four, four times the amount that makes you drunk can kill you. With marijuana there is no lethal dose because marijuana has never shown to lead to an overdose. Why do we arrest people who smoke marijuana and not people who binge drink? Who knows, maybe it's something to do with the liquor lobby."Not bad, considering that unlike an LTE you can't edit and you have about a minute to speak. Well, they printed it - at the top of the column, on Good Friday no less, under the heading "No Pot Overdoses". I did indeed have a Good Friday.
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Comment #14 posted by JHarshaw on April 20, 2004 at 13:12:36 PT
re: Comment #11
Ya...What he said!Happy 420 to all.just a thought, peace and pot
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Comment #13 posted by psthbng on April 20, 2004 at 11:49:21 PT:
Illegalize It
And if you get caught,so what? You spend the night in jail, pay a small fine and have a story to tell!!!?  Try that in the more bass ackwards states (TX,OK), you won't see the light of day for quite a while. Celebrate 420
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Comment #12 posted by jose melendez on April 20, 2004 at 10:54:29 PT
illegalize prohibition
Comment#11 should read " . . . Compounds, Fibers, analogues or approximations,"and not as misspelled below.
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Comment #11 posted by jose melendez on April 20, 2004 at 10:48:47 PT
Notice
It is Hereby Publicly Alleged and Confirmed Now and For All Time that ALL PROHIBITIONS against the Possession of, and INTERNATIONAL FREE TRADE in, and Local, Interstate and Foreign Commerce of Cannabis, Coca, Mushrooms, Opium and Amphetamines and all of their derivative and associated Products, Substitutes, Paraphernalia or similar devices or items, whether they be Extracts, Compunds, Fibers, analogues or approximations, or any other materials or things related to such plants or part(s) thereof including, but not limited to any other seed, plant, fungi, crystal, gum, ash, oil, acid, resin, cake, gel, terpene, precursor, steroid, hormone, cell, nucleus, proton, electron, molecule, microbe, protein, cannabinoid, opiod, gene, genetic code, chemical vapor, deposition, condensation or smoke are not now and have never been Constitutional, morally proper or lawful even in Common Law, that History and Science have Long Shown by overwhelming, proven and consistent historical, empiric and otherwise statistical and coincidentally anecdotal evidence that such laws HAVE ALWAYS BEEN and CONTINUE TO BE Precipitated by financial and irrational, and otherwise deceptive and illegal collusions, conspiracies and Corruptions, Mistakes and Errors in Judgement(s), Sentence(s) or Precedent(s), whether associated with Financial, Social or Any Other Conflict of Interest and Habit of Racketeering, Unjust Prosecutions and Profitable and inequitable Incarcerations and Asset Forfeitures, Manifest Destiny and outright or covert individual and systemic, intentional or Passive Fraud and Misinformation, and do enable, encourage and are often, regularly, consistently and throughout at least the previous century associated with increased youth contraband access, abuses and per capita homicide rates, whether such acts were overt, done so knowingly, passively or otherwise and furthermore, that said infractions, crimes and injuries against individuals, Nature, the environment and Humanity are now and have always been Unlawful and Inappropriate, regardless of the Popularity of such regulations and the careful or otherwise Obstructions of Justice, even those done or acheived in the name of economic, social or moral protection, and that the Founders of our very Nation did abhor and protest such restrictions to their Liberties, Freedoms and Rights.http://pipepeace.com/z/
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Comment #10 posted by Virgil on April 20, 2004 at 10:46:06 PT
Yes it is sarcasm
I wonder if he was burning one as he was composing.This was a strange closing as it contained conflicting thoughts- So fight the power. Fight the enemies of fun. Illegalize it. Fighting the power would seem to be the prohibitionists and they would be the enemies of fun. Then it turns 180 degrees to say "Illegalize it," which is strange talk in itself because it is already illegal. Maybe a person is supposed to ponder on it it and take "Illegalize it" in context of the previous sentences and see that "Legalize it" is what fits. He is saying one thing and meaning the opposite the whole time, but this is still a little strange- not that there is anything wrong with that.
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Comment #9 posted by mamawillie on April 20, 2004 at 09:53:47 PT
of course it is sarcasm
The only problem is... irony and sarcasm are very hard to recognize when talking of marijuana because people like Johnny Pee and Asscroft and Souder believe such retarted things about pot, that it is really hard to distinguish a witty comment from an idiotic one.Happy 4/20 everyone!
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Comment #8 posted by goneposthole on April 20, 2004 at 09:47:52 PT
forgot a word
must be joking, forgot the word 'be'.
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Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on April 20, 2004 at 09:46:27 PT
local news stories
now and then have a sad report of someone drinking too much alcohol and dying from alcohol poisoning. More of those stories than there are of people dying of heroin overdoses.Smoking marijuana is not as bad as getting drunk. I know. Somehow, alcohol becomes exempt.The author must joking.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 20, 2004 at 09:40:47 PT
What Is He Trying To Say?
I looked at this article and thought I don't get what point he is trying to make. I have a very hard time with pot humor. I'm so focused on the damage that cannabis prohibition has caused that I just can't laugh. When the laws are finally changed I'll laugh and be happy then.
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 20, 2004 at 09:39:35 PT
More Fear Mongering.
This guy is using the ludicrious theory that crack, herion, and meth addicts will come out of the wood work if marijuana were legalized, in an attempt to scare the masses and form popular opinion. What he leaves out is he fact that crack, herion, meth and even prescription drug use addictions are prevelant, and increasing now, despite the fact that marijuana is illegal. The blackmarket for marijuana makes all the other drugs available to the public.It amazes me that people who are clearly not capable of deductive reasoning are given a venue at all.
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Comment #4 posted by Shishaldin on April 20, 2004 at 09:37:16 PT
My question to the author
How many beers or shots of Jack Daniels did it take for him to come up with this tripe?>>>>And if you get caught, so what? You pay a fine, maybe spend a night in jail and then you go home. You have a story to tell your friends and a moment you can look back on and think, "At least I was risky and courageous once in my life."Uh, no. That moment will be remembered as "I was just relaxing with my friends when I was arrested, put in handcuffs, spent the night in a dirty jail, had to put up a $1000 for bail, later sentenced to do drug rehab (at my expense) along with being randomly piss tested. After blowing the $$$ on bail and rehab, I don't have enough cash for tuition next semester, and guess what? I can't get any student loans now! (Thanks Mr. Souder!) And nobody wants to hire a guy with a drug conviction...">>>>You make it legal, and people will look to other, more dangerous activities in order to get their thrill-seeking juices flowing.What, like binge drinking at the local UNM frat house? >>>>This becomes a problem for the authorities, people who have dedicated their lives to stopping us from doing anything remotely irresponsible. Now, they deal primarily with a few kids huddled around a pop can with holes poked in the side. Once marijuana is legalized, they have crack heads and heroin addicts cruising the streets, screaming obscenities and stealing whatever they can get their hands on.Yeah, you know, if it wasn't for that crazy adrenaline rush I get after scoring a dime bag and sneaking tokes just to piss off the establishment, I'd REALLY be into smokin' CRACK while my buddy shoots some smack into my arm!What planet does this guy live on? Oh, I know. It's that newly discovered (and newly colorized!) planet REEFER MADNESS.Happy 4/20, all...Shishaldin
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Comment #3 posted by aocp on April 20, 2004 at 09:25:03 PT
YOU, sir, are a jackass
We have a good thing going. Marijuana is illegal, but the consequences of getting caught are relatively light as long as you aren't selling. Once you grow up and get tired of it, you can quit it with ease.There should be NO penalties for responsible use of cannabis by adults, PERIOD!!! This "no-big-deal" attitude really pisses me off! This next piece is just plain stoopid, too:Once marijuana is legalized, they have crack heads and heroin addicts cruising the streets, screaming obscenities and stealing whatever they can get their hands on.Was this guy using salvia when he was writing this bilge? It's a damn good thing we have kind bud around to keep the junkies and crackheads from swearing in public and looting the rest of us blind. WTF?!? This person obviously has no idea how economics, let alone the black variety, works. What an idiot.
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on April 20, 2004 at 09:20:17 PT
Stupid
It actually helps the cause fo reform because it breaks the silence and interjects that it is not the demon represented in government. Its reasoning is stupid of course but at least it speaks to the stupid idiots that George Carlin thinks an oxymoronic term. I don't know George, there is the bunch that could be called the average idiots, so maybe differentiation is needed. It could be this article would provide a sort as the average idiot would find its logic to be hogwash and the stupid idiots would agree that this logic says that cannabis should always be illegal. Dumb stupid idiots. 
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on April 20, 2004 at 09:12:53 PT:
I thought April Fool's Day was long past?
Surely, this gentleman isn't operating on a wrong calendar, is he? Or perhaps he's been trapped in a "Groundhog Day" time warp of some sort and thinks it's April the 1st. He must be, to be making such wildly irrational statements and expecting his readers not to raise some questions as to his motive for doing so.Keep cannabis illegal...because thrill seekers will look for more riskier compounds if the mystique and allure of 'forbidden fruit' is excised from the Green Wonder?Look, pal, I could get opiates, legal and not, in a heartbeat if I wanted 'em. I don't. I see the trap for what it is, as do almost all cannabists. The Green Lady is all that anyone of us cannabists need or want. Period. It's our Swiss Army Knife of medicines. For the most part, it truly is "Good for what ails you" as the old patent medicines used to say...only this time, it's no lie.This has to be a disingenous farce, a leg-puller. Because if it isn't...then I'd be concerned for the reasoning ability of this person...and that of the staff of the organization that risks it's reputation for allowing him to publish such drivel.
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